Boxers Fall To Bearcats On Last Second Shot
SALEM, Ore. – Sophie Wilson’s buzzer-beating three-pointer capped a spirited comeback from as much as 13 points down Saturday as Willamette rallied to stun Pacific 58-57 in Northwest Conference women’s basketball action at the Cone Field House.
Wilson hit her winning shot as time expired, gaining the look at the winner after
Erica Schultz (Jr., Medford, Ore.) missed a free throw with four seconds left. The last-second shot capped a comeback that erased a 13-point Pacific lead late in the first half.
Pacific (6-15, 2-10 NWC) held the Bearcats to just four made field goals in the first half, but struggled themselves in the shooting department. The Boxers finished shooting 32.1 percent from the field (18-56), but netted seven three-pointers and went 14 of 21 from the free throw line.
Paige Jensen (So., Bemidji, Minn.) led the Boxers with 16 points on 6 of 9 from the field to go along with nine rebounds. She was the only Pacific player to finish in double figures. Schultz added eight points and 11 rebounds.
Alex Zennan led Willamette (3-16, 2-10 NWC) with 17 points as the Bearcats finished shooting 28.8 percent from the field (19-66) with eight three-pointers, all in the second half. Kaleigh Westermann finished with 12 and Erin Barclay added 11.
The two teams combined to makes just five shots from the field over the first 10 minutes of the game. The Boxers started to hit their stride at the 8:32 mark when
Alissa Nergaard (Fr., Convington, Wash.) hit a three-pointer to give Pacific a six-point lead. The Bearcats reduced the advantage to three points before a pair of
Kristen Corrales (So., Waimanalo, Hawaii) sparked a 7-0 run that gave the Boxers an 18-7 lead with 4:38 left.
Pacific would build to a 13-point lead, 23-10, on Ashley Jacob’s (So., Waimanalo, Hawaii) trey with 1:13 to go. Willamette would score the final four points of the stanza, though, and enter the locker room trailing 23-14. Pacific limited Willamette to 4 of 33 from the field in the stanza and 0 for 7 from three-point range.
Willamette rebounded to go 15 of 33 in the second half, with eight of those coming from long range. The Bearcats pulled to within two, 27-25, on an Andrea Harris free throw at the 13:19 mark, but the Boxers rebounded to go back up 37-28 on a
Kandice McArthur (Jr., Post Falls, Idaho) trey with 9:54 to go. Pacific eventually built their advantage back to 10 on another three-pointer by McArthur with 3:40 left.
After Jensen hit from downtown with 3:05 left, Willamette allowed the Boxers just two more field goals the rest of the way. The Bearcats hit three three-pointers in the stretch to narrow the lead to two points with seven seconds left. Willamette immediately fouled and Schultz hit one of two with four seconds to go. Westermann pulled down the rebound and got the ball to Wilson, who connected as time expired for the win.
Pacific continues a three-game road trip next weekend, playing games at Lewis & Clark on Friday and Linfield on Saturday.
